Ensign Peak Trail Markers (3)

Two days after the Mormon pioneers reached the valley, Brigham Young led a small party — Wilford Woodruff, Heber Kimball, and others — up this steep hill for a look at the land they meant to settle, glassing the canyons and streams below. Woodruff, first to the top, thought it a fitting place to raise "an ensign to the nations," borrowing the phrase from Isaiah, and so it was named Ensign Peak. A flag was flown here soon after. The bare little summit, still climbed today, gave the pioneers their first survey of the valley.

What the plaque says

July 26, 1847, two days after the Mormon pioneers entered this valley Brigham Young and party climbed to this point and with the aid of field glasses made a careful survey of the mountains, canyons and streams. In the group were Heber C. Kimball, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Willard Richards, Albert Carrington and William Clayton. Wilford Woodruff, first to ascend the peak, suggested it as a fitting place to “set up an ensign” (Isaiah 11:12). It was then named Ensign Peak. Subsequently the Stars and Stripes were raised here.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Ensign Peak — steps away
  A short hike to the spot where Brigham Young surveyed the valley
• Salt Lake City — 1.5 mi
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Temple Square — 1.5 mi
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Liberty Park — 3.3 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882

More markers nearby

• Ensign Peak Nature Park (8) Markers — steps away
• Ensign Peak - Trailhead — steps away
• Ensign Peak - Top — 0.2 mi
• Warm Springs (2) Markers — 0.6 mi